Cars, trains, planes, boat - Travel in Madagascar

Editor's note: We are thrilled to have our first guest blog, authored by the indefatigable Deborah and Bill Korol. Take it away mom and dad.

We arrived in the crowded,warm airport in Antananarivo (Tana) on a flight from Nairobi, Kenya tired but so excited to see Wilson and Muriel. After getting through customs and getting our bag- only one as the other had yet to arrive from London there at the barrier we saw them waiting for us. Our reunion reminded us of the children's book The Runaway Bunny (http://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Bunny-Margaret-Wise-Brown/dp/0064430189) where the mother assures her children she would go to the end of the earth to find them. The waiting car and driver whisked us off through the crowded, narrow streets of Tana where pedestrians are at peril and the horn is used more than the brakes.

Tana streets

After a quick stop for lunch at a local restaurant and an ATM where the maximum withdrawal more than fills a wallet, we were off to Parc National d'Andaside - a three hour ride in ideal conditions but four and a half hours in torrential rain and falling darkness. We arrived at a charming lodge with private bungalows located on a hillside in the rain forest.

The following morning we were awakened to the unique wails of the rare indri, Madagascar's largest lemur. We knew we were in for a special day. Our morning walk through the national park with our guide Tina was an unforgettable experience. Into the rain forest we went scanning the canopy for lemurs and other wildlife with the first sighting being a family of the large diademed sifakas. Further into forest we found a group of indri lemurs in classic form, jumping from tree to tree, babies clutching their mothers, feeding on leaves and occasionally calling out loud. We were so engaged with the indri that we almost missed seeing a group of brown lemurs who came down to the forest floor and within a couple of feet of Bill. What a morning! To fully appreciate what lemurs are like we recommend the BBC DVD's Madagascar, Island of Marvels - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ymh67.

Wailing indri

The afternoon adventure was a trip back to Tana on La Micheline, a restored pneumatic bus that operates on train tracks and took us through the beautiful Madagascar countryside, past villages and towns and acres and acres of rice fields. The pace of travel was soothing and a fabulous way to see the country. The restored bus tires have a tendency to go flat and after a few hours we had to stop to repair one of them. In another hour another tire went flat and we stopped again. This pattern continued and the frequency and intensity of the rain showers increased. We felt we had embarked "on a two hour tour, a two hour tour" aka Gilligan's Island. We did eventually make it back to Tana and in spite of the delays we thought this was another peak experience.

Le Michielin, traveling 30's style

The next day we caught an early morning flight to Fort Dauphin, a city of 60,000 on the southeastern coast. We checked into our bungalow perched over the bay with the sound of crashing waves and the sight of fishermen working their dugout canoes. We then walked around the city before stopping for a late lunch at Bernard's restaurant across the street from a white sand beach. The owner of the restaurant was from France and had worked as a chef in Vermont in the early 1970's. He had worked at Sugarbush at Le Chez restaurant and Bill still remembers eating his French onion soup there. What an interconnected world we live in.

Muriel covered the next day in her blog. We travelled in style in a 4x4 and enjoyed our stops. The Parc National d'Andringitra and its spiny forest was a remarkable The helmented tortoise was a sight to see and three of of us walked right by it before Bill called it to our attention. For those of you who watch 60 Minutes it was the one highlighted a few weeks ago. What a treat for us! We also saw a chameleon on the way out of the park that changed colors while we look on.

High endanger Radiated Tortoise

The next day we had planed an all day boat trip through two lakes and a sort of inter-coastal waterway to a beach up the coast. Although the weather looked iffy we were sure the rain would hold off so off we went. Well, just as we got to the beach the heavens opened up and it rained like you have never seen. It is the rainy season here and we got more rain in an hour than we get in a year in Las Vegas. We were unable to do the activities we had planned and as the afternoon came we were concerned that we would not be able to get back at all. Thank goodness our guide really knew what he was doing as he went between two strong showers to get us back to town. The highlight of the trip for us was the time we spent inside a hut on the lake shore with a Madagascar women. We had been by hundreds of these small houses and it was so good to see one from the inside. The roofs are made traveller palm leave lashed together with sisal, a plant brought to the island to make rope commercially that has now become invasive.

The sprint back to Ft Dauphin

Our day ended with another great supper with the sounds of the sea everywhere.

Wilson and Muriel have been amazing guides and traveling companions. Muriel's command of Malagasy has been invaluable and has allowed us to experience the country in a personal and intimate way.

Having a ball